Dead man zone
This article needs additional citations for verification. (June 2017) |
The dead man zone is the area directly around a
Project Vesta
The term dead man zone was coined by members of the CSIRO research team in Australia who were investigating the spread of bushfires (Project Vesta). The dead man zone is approximately 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) around the fire that is likely to burn. This dead man zone can be a safety net for firefighters if the fire is moving at a high speed. The dead man zone can also be prepared in a way that slows down the fire. Firefighters can get outside the dead man zone safely without seeing what the fire is going to do and develop a plan of attack or defense upon the fire's next move. If the dead man zone is not used, wind change can sneak up on the firefighters and resulting in potentially unsafe distances where they are not able to defend themselves. This can be a life or death situation if not approached properly, and there have been examples of firefighters that became trapped and ultimately killed in Australia.[2] Project Vesta, headed by scientist Phil Cheney, found that when the wind changes direction, the line of fire will move out at its maximum rate of spread almost immediately, and that the spread speed was nearly three times what was previously thought. Project Vesta's research into bushfire behavior makes up the majority of what is known about bushfires today.[3]
Outcomes
Outcomes from Project Vesta have been integrated into firefighter training in Australia and are beginning to appear in the United States.
The result of several inquiries into firefighter death in
See also
- Ash Wednesday bushfires
- Bushfires in Australia
- Country Fire Authority (Victoria, Australia)
- List of disasters in Australia by death toll
- New South Wales Rural Fire Service (Australia)
- South Australian Country Fire Service
References
- ^ Cheney, Phil; Gould, Jim; McCaw, Lachie (4 November 2000). "The Dead-Man Zone - a neglected area of firefighter safety" (PDF). CSIRO. Archived from the original on 22 June 2017. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ Mccaw, Lachie (April 2001). "The deadman zone". ResearchGate. Retrieved 26 November 2020.
- ^ "Project Vesta: Fire in Dry Eucalypt Forest | BFCRC Legacy". www.bushfirecrc.com. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
External links
- Project Vesta-Bushfire CRC
- The Dead-Man Zone - a neglected area of firefighter safety [1]